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Recommended Hotels near Urbino |
Urbino remains one of the most important towns in the Marche - indeed in Italy - for the tourist in search of great Italian art and architecture and its beguiling streets well reward the curious traveller.
Its historic center now boasts the honour of being included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. For the second half of the 15thC its windy hill was the setting for one of the most illustrious courts in Europe. Duke Federico da Montefeltro gathered around him the greatest painters, poets and scholars of his day and housed them in one of Italy's most beautiful Renaissance palaces, a palace that still stands as an eloquent memorial to this quintessential Renaissance man.
For the best first impression approach the town from Arezzo to see the fairy-tale twin towers of the palace that give Urbino its unmistakable skyline; already you will see that it was built by a benevolent and secure ruler who had no need to intimidate or brag.
The hub of the town is the animated triangle of Piazza della Repubblica that lies in a dip between the twin humps of a hill. From here follow the signs up to the Palazzo Ducale. The summer opening times are 9am to 7pm Tues-Sat, 9am to 2pm Monday and an impressive 9am to 10pm on Sundays.
As you arrive at the entrance you may feel let down - the palace presents an undistinguished face to the town. Once inside, however, you will find one of the most kindly and exhilarating palaces you will encounter in Italy. The courtyard sets the tone; a masterpiece of proportion and light carried out with the deftest of touches. Remember this was the first of its kind, the others you will see across Italy are mere copies.
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Diocesan Museum "Albani"
The museum contains a collection of paintings and tables from the first '300 to '700, a rich collection of illuminated manuscripts of the thirteenth century, works in bronze, including a chandelier Francesco di Giorgio Martini. There is also retained the Treasury of the Cathedral, with precious vestments and liturgical furnishings.
Ducal Palace (National Gallery of Marches)
The most important museum of the city is the National Gallery of Marches. It is housed in the Ducal Palace where there are works of art from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century, but especially where some of the shine the most significant masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance. This includes the "ideal city", "the Flagellation" of Piero della Francesca, "the desecration of the Host" by Paolo Uccello, Raphael's "La Muta", but also works by Titian, Luca Signorelli, Federico Barocci. |
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Unesco
www.sitiunesco.it
Sovrintendenza Urbino - Galleria Nazionale delle Marche
www.urbinoinrete.it/superintendence/Default.htm
Raphael Academy
www.accademiaraffaello.it
Tourism Province of Pesaro and Urbino
www.turismo.pesarourbino.it
Local Tourist System "Urbino and the Montefeltro"
www.urbinoeilmontefeltro.it
Apennines
www.appennino.info
Pro-Urbino
www.prourbino.it
Urbinonline.net
www.urbinonline.net
Convention Bureau Terre Ducali
www.cbterreducali.it |
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Urbino
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